Luceran’s gaze sharpens on them. “They are afraid they will melt,” he says. “Like everything else.”
My eyes widen. “Will they?”
He grins, clearly amused by my concern, and I frown at him in response.
“I still carry winter with me,” he says. He opens his palm, and frost blooms there, a whirl of wind and ice spinning to life, cold and luminous. He purses his lips and exhales gently.
The magic surges forward.
Mink and Fitz squeal, scrambling to escape, but the spell closes around them, drawing them inward. In a blink, they are sealed inside a transparent orb, their tiny forms spinning as it arcs back into Luceran’s grasp.
He lets it hover between us.
Inside, Minx and Fritz drift weightless, suspended in a miniature winter. Snow falls endlessly around them, slow and delicate, flakes spinning and settling only to lift again as though shaken by unseen hands.
“They can travel like this until I make them a proper home. It will keep them cold.”
I tilt my head and reach out, brushing the surface with one tentative finger. It is thin and hard, like sugared glass, and I hiss as the cold bites my skin.
Luceran exhales. “I could have told you that would happen if you’d only asked before touching it.”
“You could have warned me when you saw my finger,” I mutter, sucking at the sting.
“But where would be the fun in that?” he says, smiling.
The ache fades quickly.
“It is beautiful,” I say. “What do you call it?”
He considers, tongue pressing briefly into his cheek. “I have never made one before.” A pause. “Perhaps it is a kind of snow…globe.”
Inside, Mink and Fitz pound their fists against the glass before a sudden swirl of sleet sends them tumbling. Luceran scowls.
“If you would prefer to melt on the steps, be my guest.”
They go very still.
Luceran nods, satisfied.
The snow globe drifts through the carriage door and settles beside my case on the cushion.
“I will drive,” Luceran says.
“I will join you,” I reply, closing the carriage door.
He smiles and lifts me by the waist, settling me onto the driver’s bench before climbing up beside me. The carriage rocks beneath his weight. His tattooed knuckles close around the reins, and then he turns to me.
“Are you sure this is what you want, Neve Devlin?”
Above us, the sun breaks fully through the clouds, warmth spilling over my skin until my fur cloak becomes unbearable. I unfasten the clasp and let it slide from my shoulders, watching as it falls to the ground, settling in a puddle of melted ice.
Then I smile at him.
“I have never wanted anything more.”
The horses surge forward, and we leave Castle Frostwyn behind as the world opens before us.
Despite Atilia’s insistence, we do not go to her estate for gold.
